Bearing assembly



Juy 23, 1946. P. R. WHEELER" 2,404,420 4 BEARING ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 5, 1944 12a a [MW lo 2 will-"WWW 5:1

INVENTOR BY' .DH/LIP R. WHEELER www Patented July 23, 1946 UNITED e STATES PATENT OFFICE BEARING ASSEMBLY Phillip R. Wheeler, Alexandria, Va. Application January 5, 1944, Serial No. 517,050

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

2 Claims.

amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) This invention relates to bearing assemblies and 4has particular relation to a raceway structure for use in bearing assemblies.

l An object of the invention is to provide an improved sheet'metal raceway structure for use in bearing assemblies.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved sheet metal raceway structure for vuse in bearing assemblies supporting radial loads in opposite directions and thrust loads in opposite directions.

A further object of the invention 1s to provide an improved sheet metal raceway structure of economical manufacture which is of sturdy` rigid construction and which is extremely light lin Weight with relation to the heavy load which it is capable of supporting.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a bearing assembly which is particularly adapted to be protected from damage caused by foreign objects, rain and water, and which is constructed to permit rapid and continuous drainage of the race. 1

These-arid other objects of the invention will be understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Fig. 1 is a sectional perspective view of a bear-A ing assembly having one form of the new raceway, and

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional View on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

The invention is illustrated in preferred form suitable for use in a ring mount for a machine gun installation. The outer race ring comprises a strip of sheet metal which is generally 3shaped in cross-section with its vertical portion bent to form a longitudinally extending, substantially V- shaped race-forming channel. The bottom ilange Ia is secured to a base I I by a stud bolt I2 and nut I2a. The inner race ring is formed of sheet metal and comprises a U-shaped upper section |3- and a U-shaped lower section I4, joined at their inner adjacent ilanges I3a and I4a by a bolt I5 and nut I5a. In the form as shown, the sections I3 and I4 are identical in shape and are fashioned in the same die, thereby contributing to the economical manufacture of the bearing assembly. The inner adjacent corners of the sections I3 and I4 are bent to provide a substantially V-shaped race-forming channel which is complementary to the channel in the V-shaped portion of the element I0. Thus, a channel or raceway is provided which is defined by surfaces I6 and I'I of the V-shaped portion of the element I0 and by the flattened corners I9 and I8 2 ofthe sections I3 and I4. The opposing sides I6 and I9 are positioned parallel to eachother and perpendicular to the opposing sides I'I and I8, which are likewise positioned parallel to each other, thereby forming a raceway of rectangular cross-section. The sides IS, II, I8 and I9, as shown, are of approximately equal width, so that the raceway is substantially square-shaped in cross-section.

Anti-friction rollers, one of which is shown at 20,l are disposed in the raceway with their axes parallel tothe sides I6 and I9, the rollsbeing retained in position by a roller separator 2| which is described in a copending application of Irasek, Serial No. 510,908, filed November 19, 1943, now Patent 2,349,824, issued May 30, 1944. .The roller 20 is adapted to support the down thrust when a load is` applied to the section I3. A plurality of rollers, not shown, are disposed in the raceway with their axes parallel to the sides I1 and I8 for taking up the thrust when a load vis applied `to the section I4. Thus, a bearing assembly is provided which is capable of supporting radial loads in both directions and thrust loads in both directions.

A shielding apron 22, in the form of an L- shaped strip of sheet metal, is secured to the up per flange |32) *ofV the section I3 by a bolt 23 and nut 23a and is welded to an additional protective and supporting shield 24 disposed 'out- Wardly of and surrounding the bearing assembly. In the structure as shown, the radial and thrust loads are applied to the sections I3 and I4 through the shield 24 and the apron 22. However, it will be understood that the loads may be applied at any desired point of the bearing Vassembly.

The invention Vhas particular use in a ring mount for, machine gun installations,.where sturdlness and light weight are of prime importance, and in which the ring mounts must be constructed to withstand exposure to ordnance missiles, rain and water spray. In this connection, it is desired to point out that the new bearing assembly is particularly adapted to this purpose. The apron 22 and the shield 24 protect the bearing assembly from being struck by foreign objects, such as ordnance missiles. The apron 22 further serves to protect the bearing assembly from exposure to rain and, when installed aboard ship, from exposure to wash water and water spray. The bearing assembly is so constructed that Water can enter the raceway from the outer ring only by being forced'laterally through the space between the base plate ange bearing assembly permits rapid and continuous drainage, since the water washed into the race-- way is immediately drained therefromby passing through the space between the lower portion of the outer race ring IIJ and the lower inner racel ring I4. Y Y

While the invention has been described for use in a circular bearing supporting'anti-friction rollers for takingY radial loads in both directions and thrust loads in both directions, it will be understood that use of the invention is not limited to this application and vthat it may be used to advantage in other bearing assemblies, such as those types having a straight race track or those employing anti-friction ball rolls.

While the bearing races of the present invention have been described as formed from rolled sheet metal which may be either steel or any suitable nonferrous material such as aluminum, magnesium or copper base alloys, it will be apparent that the races may be formed by extrusion and the term sheet metal is intended to include extruded sections which may be of variable'thickness. The extrusion process is advantageous when using light alloys which must be refrigerated after being subjected to certain types of forming such as rolling. `The extrusion method has the further advantage of providing greater flexibility in the shape and locationof that part of the raceway which attaches to either the fixed or the rotating structure, such as is present in a gun turret. This is desirable where a replacement bearing must be adapted to lit into an existing space and be assembled with an existing structure. It has been found that the above described extruded sections are adaptable 4for use Where a maximum load-carrying capacity and a minimum of weight are desired of the present 4 bearing assembly, such as in aircraft lgun turrets.

The invention herein described may be manufacturedjand used by yor for the Government of the United `States of America for governmental purposegwithout'the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

Iclaim: l Y 1. A bearing assembly comprising a self-contained raceway structure having a plurality of channel members of substantially uniform thick-V 1pled adjacent the vertex of this V-shaped race',

releasable coupling means for said elements to permit easy disassembly thereof, said channel Amembers being positioned with 'the V-shaped races aligned in opposed vrelation to form a raceway of substantially rectangular cross-section, and anti-friction means disposed in said rectangular raceway whereby the bearing assembly will freely support loads in any direction.

2. A bearing assembly comprisinga self-contained raceway structure having a plurality of channel members of substantially uniform thickness, one of said members of .t3-shaped crosssection having a V-shaped race and adjacent strengthening flanges, and at least one of said members of E-shapedA cross-section :comprising at least two separable andinterchangeable elements of substantially U-shaped cross-section forming a complementary V-shaped race with adjacent strengthening flanges, said elements being coupled at the vertex of thisl Vv-shaped race, releasable coupling Vmeans for said element to permit easy Vdisassembly thereof, said channel members being positioned with the V -shaped races aligned in opposed relation to form a raceway of substantially rectangular cross-section, antifriction means disposed in said rectangular raceway, and a shielding apron attached toV one of said channel members, and extending-over and alongside of the other channel member.

PHILLIP R. WHEELER. 

